Calories in vs calories out is just not working !

[noseriouslyguys]

Yes I know the principle is correct- I get it. But explain this to me then…

I’ve been weighing every bite I eat or drink for two months - PLUS exercising 5 times a week and I am not losing on the scale.

I have lost weight since the start of the year, without exercising at first, but now the scale is just standing still.

I create a deficit of 1000 calories a day and nada.

the scale teases me, it will say a certain low weight- then I get back on it and it says 2kg more the next day and it will show me that 2 kg more for another two weeks.

I have lost weight already by the way, without exercising since the start of the year- slowly. Maybe a kg a month- some months 2. I thought I would really tighten up my eating and track absolutely everything plus add in exercise. At first I thought it’s normal, water retention- but not after 2 months surely ?

I have gone to the gym a couple of times but mainly playing tennis. For 1-2 hours a day, 5 days a week. Sometimes 4. So it can’t be muscle gain from tennis.

anyway, I am not giving up- but it just makes no sense ?

I do agree with calories in vs calories out, but I have to drop down so extremely low- I mean 800 or so, to lose weight.

I currently eat between 1.200 and 1.500 a day ( max ).

Everyone in denial says this, post your height, weight and age and I'll tell you your TDEE.

RH

why should I post everything about myself ? I’ve given enough information already. You know my TDEE. Why do you need to know more ?

Based on your progress you've got it massively wrong.

You are saying at 1500 calories you are up to 1000 calories a day short implying 2500 as your normal

thata rather a lot for a woman

Because you’re asking why it’s not working and people are trying to find out. You have either got something very wrong or you need to see a doctor.

This is still massively unhelpful though. It's impossible to accurately calculate what a calorie deficit is for every individual. There are so many other factors at play like hormones, thyroid, metabolism, intolerances, gut health.

I, for one, found out recently I don't digest protein well, so the high protein diet I'd be trying for years was doing sweet fuck all. Bodies are different and calories in v calories out is too simplistic and science is agreeing, do some research

But why do you need to know more than my TDEE ? It’s enough information.

This. I've been losing a pound or two a week for a while, then the weight loss mysteriously stopped. Weighing myself a couple of times a day made the batteries go flat. Inserted new batteries and I'm back to losing weight again just like that!!

Calories in - out works but things like - how effective your brain is working, how much fidgeting you do watching telly - all ways in which your body helps to manage the balance

If you’re already slim and additionally not very tall, it could be likely your body has found its maintenance weight or you’re losing but very very slowly. Are you measuring yourself as well? Sometimes weight loss shows up in measurements before the scale.

Oh bore off with your abusive language. OP has been very open to ideas and change. Stop swearing at people on a forum and get a new hobby.

Also are you always weighing yourself at the same time every day? Or weight can fluctuate up to 5lbs a day based on food/water consumed, water retention etc.

It doesn't have to be calculated at the levels of a lab in a test tube, it works for the vast majority of people except those in denial and/or who have a medical condition and they need to tweak it as they go to work out what the calculations are

This 100% it's partly why mounjaro works so well, it regulates insulin.

This is the sort of narrative a loser peddles whose not committed to lifestyle change to lose weight..

Go back to weapons world and continue to receive terrible advice and create bad habits and relationships with food.

I definitely believe that consuming fewer calories than you consume does work, I just think that for some people they need to drop extremely low, otherwise it doesn’t work. And I don’t think it’s just because of miscalculations.

Maybe you've calculated it wrong and someone here is trying to be helpful and work it out for you.

At the end of my weight loss I was losing about half a pound a month. Still gave me a loss of half a stone in that final year. OP just needs to stick with it once she is sure she is in a deficit

The principle of CICO is false. Your body will vary your BMR to adjust to food supply, and hormones such as insulin and glucagon also influence your body’s ability to store or burn fat. If you reduce your calories as severely as you have, your body will crash its metabolic rate to compensate and then try to store any excess calories as fat in anticipation of further starvation conditions. If you then start to increase calorific intake, fat storage will increase too.

You need to read up on the science of metabolism if you want to calorie restrict effectively!

@soupyspooni was losing 1 kg a month for ages too. I’ve never lost fast in my whole life. The whole 0,5 to 1 kg a week has literally never applied for me. I’ve been extremely patient. I’ve increased my efforts tenfold and it’s stalling.

So what’s the answer ? Because when I drop low enough, it does end up working.

So considering that the BMR for the average woman is around 1500 calories and you're adding 300 for tennis, you're trying to say that you eat 800 calories a day and have the energy to play tennis for 4 hours?

By that logic, everyone living in a famine would be fat.

Who are you even talking to? OP is asking for advice and taking it on board. End of. Run along now.

This has come up before. The tdee is an estimate and its on the high side. My tdee is 1800 for moderate activity and 1600 for light. I walk an hour daily and go to the gym three times a week. I reckon my maintenance is around 1400.